Govt urged to extend exemption for prohibited content in A2P messages

The Malaysia Mobile Technology Association (MMTA) has requested the government extend the exemption for prohibited content in Application-to-Peer or A2P messages granted to certain entities beyond the Sept 1 deadline.

Its president Shawn Ng said service providers have been required since May 2023 to filter and block “prohibited contents” in their Person-to-Person (P2P) messages due to concerns over the growing menace of scams in Malaysia.

The prohibition includes harmful uniform resource locators (URLs), call-back numbers, and requests for sensitive information, all of which are common tactics used in fraudulent schemes.

However, legitimate entities like government agencies, financial institutions, and corporations are exempt from these restrictions, subject to their brand name and short code being approved by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) thus allowing them to send Enterprise SMS (A2P) messages.

“But MCMC recently announced that as of Sept 1, this exemption will be revoked. Service providers will now be required to block prohibited content in Enterprise SMS (A2P) messages entirely.

“MMTA has expressed concerns about upcoming content prohibition by MCMC, which will prohibit URLs, call-back numbers, and requests for information would drastically disrupt legitimate business communications to the public,” he said.

MMTA acknowledged that consumer protection was crucial but cautioned that the sweeping restrictions could severely disrupt legitimate business communications and indirectly lead to economic uncertainty, Ng added.

He said entities such as government agencies, financial institutions, and mobile operators, rely heavily on SMS URLs to provide essential services and information, such as delivery of e-statements and e-invoices, client appointment confirmation and password reset.

Complaints about SMS scams, he said, have decreased from 4,121 in 2019 to 498 cases in 2023 as scammers shift to instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, iMessage, voice calls, and social media.

Efforts to combat scams should not impede the growth and innovation of Malaysia’s mobile messaging sector, which contributes over RM500 million annually to the Madani economy, he said.

Ng stated that the MMTA has proposed alternative solutions to the MCMC, including a phased enforcement approach and the development of advanced filtering solutions to differentiate between legitimate and harmful content.

- Bernama

DNS measures help ensure safer online experience – MCMC

Fahmi: Govt firmly against X's pornographic content policy change

COMMENT | Do we really need a social media licensing law?

Putrajaya wants big tech to reduce online harm

Block 'fake news', online harms or face action, MCMC warns internet providers